What to Lookout for When Buying a Microphone

Microphones just like most electronics come in different specifications, types, and grades. This informs the need for choices when purchasing a microphone. It is important to note that price is not the only marker of a good microphone. Certain low budget microphones perform close to if not better than the high-end microphones.

It, therefore, becomes important to have a list of certain requirements depending on intended use. There are certain things that should be considered prior to purchasing a microphone and they include:

The type: The various types are briefly discussed below:

Dynamic Microphones: They are a wide range of versatile, sturdy but simple microphones that are available in different ranges of price and quality. Dynamic microphones convert sound waves to electricity and it does this with the aid of a wire coil located next to a magnet. This wire coil vibrates in unison with the magnet creating the electrical current.

Condenser Microphones: Condenser microphones are more complex than dynamic microphones. For this reason, condenser microphones can generally produce audio signals that are stronger than those produced by dynamic microphones.

Ribbon Microphones: Ribbon is more or less dynamic microphones. The only difference between the general set up is that a single metal ribbon instead of a wire coil is set next to the magnet and vibrates with it. Ribbon microphones are relatively fragile but they are better choices for detailed sounds.

Directionality: Another consideration is the directionality of the microphone. Directionality describes how microphones pick up sounds. Based on directionality, microphones are grouped into the following:

Omnidirectional: As the name suggests, these microphones pick up sounds from everywhere in their surrounding. This has its pros and cons. One of the pros is more captures while an example of the cons is the tendency to pick up noise. For this reason, omnidirectional microphones are preferred for broadcasting and not for music.

Bidirectional: These kinds of microphones pick up sounds from two opposite sides of a microphone. They are mostly used for podcasting.

Variable Directional: these are microphones that have the ability to alternate between directionalities. This is a desirable property. This is because they are built for more versatility.

While the price might be the most important determinant of quality of a microphone, the points discussed above can help you decide on the best buy for just any price range. At http://microphonegeeks.com/, we help you acquire the best microphone for your budget and need.